REPORT: U.S. Clean Energy Surpasses 3.3 Million Workers Nationwide, Adds 127,000 Jobs in 2022

• Clean energy employment grew 4 percent in 2022, 10 percent since 2021
• 40 percent of all energy jobs in 2022 were in clean energy
• 1 in 30 net new jobs in U.S. were in clean energy in 2022
• Clean energy employed workers in 3,000 counties and every metropolitan area

WASHINGTON — The U.S. clean energy economy added 127,000 workers in 2022 – accounting for more than 3 percent of all net new jobs in the U.S. and employing a total of 3.3 million workers according to a new report from national, nonpartisan business group E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs). 

E2’s eighth annual Clean Jobs America 2023 report shows that every state added clean energy jobs in 2022 – regardless of politics, climate, or geology. The states with the most clean energy jobs remained unchanged from 2021, led by California and Texas with over 500,000 and 250,000 jobs respectively, followed by New York, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio, and North Carolina all with at least 100,000. Employment increased by more than 6 percent in five states (Tenn. Ky., Okla., N.J., N.M.), while the sector accounted for more than 5 percent of all 20 jobs in Vermont and over 3 percent in four other states (Mass., Wyo., Md., R.I.).

The report’s 2023 installment is the first to make the detailed state and county employment findings fully accessible to the public through a new website and interactive map. Cleanjobsamerica.e2.org provides clean energy jobs data for all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, and all 3,100+ counties, independent cities, and census areas. Data available includes subsector, growth rate, national and state rankings, job density, and more across all five clean energy sectors (renewable generation, energy efficiency, storage and grid modernization, clean vehicles, and biofuels). Additional data is also available for download on the site.

According to the eighth annual Clean Jobs America analysis, at the end of 2022 nearly every clean energy sector had surpassed its pre-pandemic workforce numbers as the industry added jobs 53 percent faster than the overall U.S. economy. Clean energy now accounts for 40 percent of all energy jobs in the U.S., with workers employed in every state, metro across more than 3,000 counties.

Michael Timberlake, E2 Communications Director, said:

“Clean energy is indispensable to economic growth today. And the best news is every community is benefitting. Workers exist in literally every corner of the U.S.  across hundreds of different occupations building everything from the next generation of batteries and photovoltaic panels to retrofitting old office buildings and manufacturing the appliances in your home.

“Last year’s impressive clean energy job growth is just the beginning in terms of expectations for the sector and country. The Inflation Reduction Act was like a nitro boost for the clean economy engine and private companies have taken off at full speed. As long as this legislation is protected from misguided attempts to undo its progress, these job numbers will be skyrocketing for years to come.”

Every clean energy sector added jobs in 2022 according to Clean Jobs America. Clean vehicle makers continued to lead all energy sectors in growth, adding nearly 50,000 jobs and outpacing the entire gas and diesel-powered vehicle industry by more than 250 percent. Another 50,000 workers were added to the energy efficiency sector, bringing the sector’s total to 2.2 million and maintaining the sector’s status as the single-largest employer across the entire energy sector. 

This growth sets the stage before the clean energy sector feels the full impact from the largest ever federal investment in climate and clean energy. Major new clean energy projects  announced by companies in the first year since the IRA was signed into law in August 2022 totaled 210 across 38 states. The numbers in this report do not reflect the estimated 75,000 jobs to be created by those projects with employment estimates as they begin to break ground in the coming months and years.

Sandra Purohit, E2 Director of Federal Advocacy, said:

“The U.S. clean economy is thriving, and with a tailwind from historic federal clean energy investments rejuvenating domestic manufacturing, creating jobs and spurring private sector investment across the country, it is poised to become the foundation of a strong American economy. The transition to clean energy is well underway, and it’s benefitting Americans, the economy, and environment as it goes. 

“Members of Congress must protect these essential investments as they work to finalize government funding for the coming year.”

Other Report Highlights from Clean Jobs America 2023:

• The New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco-Oakland metropolitan areas led all metros for the most clean energy jobs, with more than 100,000 jobs in each 
• Los Angeles County (Calif.), Harris County (Texas), Orange County (Calif.), Cook County (Ill.), and San Diego County (Calif.) led all counties for the most clean energy jobs with at least 50,000 jobs in each. 
• Kenedy County (Texas), Pulaski County (Ill.), and Storey County (Nev.) had the highest density in clean energy employment while Dewey County (Okla.), Hoke County (N.C.), and Hopewell County (Va.) had the fastest growth rates. 
• Clean energy sectors set record employment highs two years after the pandemic-fueled unemployment crisis cost the industry more than 620,000 jobs. 
• Energy efficiency remained the single-biggest employer across the entire energy sector, employing more than 2.2 million Americans, adding more than 50,000 jobs in 2022 (up 2.3%). 
• 1.6 million construction jobs were supported by clean energy in 2022, which would account for about 1 in every 7 construction workers nationwide. 
• Jobs grew across all subsectors of renewable energy, led by wind energy (7.5%) and geothermal (5.0%). In all, nearly 20,000 jobs were added in 2022 and over 535,000 Americans now work in renewable energy sectors—an 8.5% increase since 2021. 
• The storage and grid modernization sector added over 8,000 jobs in 2022, up 5.8%. Jobs making power grids more resilient and able to handle more renewable energy led the sector, growing 11.6% followed by battery and energy storage (6.2%). Since 2021, the sector increased employment by 9.8%. 
• Clean vehicle makers continue to lead all clean energy sectors in growth, adding nearly 50,000 jobs. Electric vehicles (EVs) led the sector, adding nearly 30,000 jobs alone in 2022 (26.8%), followed closely by hydrogen and fuel cell vehicles (25.2%). Since 2021, every clean vehicle subsector has increased employment by over 27% with EVs and hydrogen and fuel-cell vehicles seeing job growth rates over 60%. The sector also continued to outgrow the gas and diesel-powered vehicle industry (1.6%). 
• The smallest clean energy sector, biofuels, added over 1,000 jobs in 2022. Since 2021, the sector has increased employment by 8.4% and over 3,000 jobs. 

Methodology:

This analysis of U.S. clean energy employment is based on employment data collected and analyzed by the BW Research Partnership for the 2023 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER). The USEER analyzes data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) to track employment across many energy production, transmission and distribution subsectors. In addition, the 2023 USEER relies on a unique supplemental survey of 33,000 business representatives across the United States. Created and conducted by BW Research, the methodology has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This survey is used to identify energy-related employment within key subsectors of the broader industries as classified by the BLS and to assign them into their component energy and energy efficiency sectors. 

Additional Information: 

• Website/Map: www.cleanjobsamerica.e2.org 
• Additional Employment Data: Separate PDFs of appendix data tables are available on the new Clean Jobs America website.
• Report: Clean Economy Works | IRA One-Year Review
• Website: Clean Economy Works Project Announcement Tracker

Previous Clean Jobs America Reports:

• Clean Jobs America 2022
• Clean Jobs America 2021
• Clean Jobs America 2020
• Clean Jobs America 2019 
• Clean Jobs America 2018 
• Clean Jobs America 2017 
• Clean Jobs America 2016

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E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) is a national, nonpartisan group of business leaders, investors, and professionals from every sector of the economy who advocate for smart policies that are good for the economy and good for the environment. Our members have founded or funded more than 2,500 companies, created more than 600,000 jobs, and manage more than $100 billion in venture and private equity capital. For more information, see www.e2.org or follow us on Twitter at @e2org.